New form of friction arises purely from magnetic interactions – no contact required

New form of friction arises purely from magnetic interactions – no contact required

Friction usually announces itself through contact. A chair scraping across a floor, a tire gripping asphalt, a hand sliding over fabric. For centuries, the rule seemed simple: press harder, and resistance grows. That idea, formalized in Amontons’ law, has guided physics since the 17th century. Now a tabletop experiment suggests a very different picture can emerge when nothing touches at all. Researchers at the University of Konstanz have identif…